So for Christmas I set out to find me a 1000g normal girl for myself for me to breed NEXT season to my lesser male. I saw a few that I was interested in, but nothing really jumped out at me. So, I figured I would wait around until the NARBC in Arlington next August to look for a breeder-sized normal. I figured I wouldn't be able to find one now because people had probably already paired.
I was thinking about my Lesser boy and the breeder popped into my mind. I sent her an e-mail asking if she was going to have any of her normal females for sale after they lay. There was one female who is a gorgeous bright female that I loved when I saw her the day I got my lesser boy. Well, the breeder said that she would be willing to sell me the same female now! We are pretty good friends and she knows I take care of my babies so she knew that her girl would be in a good home. So, this new girl will be picked up after the holidays (she lives in my area) so we can both spend time with our family. Here's the great part, she has been bred once a week since October 1st with a black pastel. Both are proven breeders.
So, I am picking up this possibly gravid female and I want to double check that I have everything I need in order to be prepared in case she does lay for me. I'll know more if I start to see building behavior from her once she gets here in January (probably shortly after new years). So far, I have a 41qt tub for her (she's a little over 2000g) with an UTH/thermostat hooked up to it in my quarantine room. She'll be on newspaper bedding with two hides and a water bowl like all my other animals. I have a new rack that will be coming towards the end of January so when it gets here, I'll just slide her tub in. I already have a styrofoam cooler that I was going to rig into an incubator this spring to let run for a little while as a test run. However, I'll be doing that while I'm out of school in case I do need it before next season. I have a spot made on my rack that I can hold up to 16 6qt tubs (however, ideally a clutch of no bigger than 8 would be awesome because of the way my rack is designed). I've been doing a lot of reading/learning over the last year preparing for my first clutch. I didn't expect to have it happen a season sooner, so I'm trying to scramble to make sure that I have everything in place in case she lays (just trying to think ahead...even if she doesn't lay for me). I have access to live feeders for the babies and a freezer full of rat fuzzies/pups and some mice to switch the babies over the frozen after a few meals.
What am I forgetting? And how should I treat the mom-to-be? I will figuratively have her wrapped in bubble wrap. Do I need to take any special precautions with her as far as handling/feeding her, etc.? Any advice is helpful.
Also, I apologize for my long-winded post. I tend to talk a lot when I'm excited.
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